Pearson, Stempky lead Cheboygan to 28-6 win over Alpena

With another victory—their fourth in a row—the Chiefs (5-1) are now one win away from securing a second consecutive playoff berth. Despite turning the ball over three times in the contest, the Chiefs offense executed just enough to help knock off the Wildcats (1-5), while the defense had another stellar outing, limiting Alpena to just 79 total yards rushing.

CHEBOYGAN — After fumbling twice against Petoskey last week, all Cheboygan's Ben Pearson wanted to do was make amends.

On a rainy homecoming night in Cheboygan, the senior tailback certainly did that.

And he also helped make sure all Cheboygan supporters went home happy.

Pearson broke free on a 59-yard touchdown scamper on Cheboygan's first play from scrimmage in the second half to help the Chiefs claim a 28-6 victory over Alpena on Friday night.

"I was juiced," said Pearson of his touchdown run. "I had a lot of energy going through me, the adrenaline was going. I saw the (Alpena) kids coming behind me, and I was just fighting for that extra inch, every play just trying to get that extra inch to score."

With another victory—their fourth in a row—the Chiefs (5-1) are now one win away from securing a second consecutive playoff berth.

Despite turning the ball over three times in the contest, the Chiefs offense executed just enough to help knock off the Wildcats (1-5), while the defense had another stellar outing, limiting Alpena to just 79 total yards rushing.

Offensively, the Chiefs did most of their damage in the first half, with senior quarterback Luke Harrington connecting with junior receiver Nate Stempky on touchdown passes of 13 and 11 yards to help build a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.

One of the early Cheboygan touchdown drives was set up by none other than Pearson, who had a 44-yard punt return to the Alpena 10-yard line. Pearson also finished with 90 yards rushing for the Chiefs, while senior fullback Nik Bevier ran for 79 yards on 17 carries.

For the game, Harrington was nine-of-13 passing for 130 yards, while Stempky caught three passes for 41 yards, and Chris Demeuse caught two passes for 30 yards.

"They (Alpena) were just big and strong up front, so they were getting a push, forcing Luke (Harrington) out of the pocket at times, and then we were able to keep our eyes down the field, because even though Alpena kind of broke down our pass protection, our kids kept blocking them, so Luke was able to still allow his eyes to be down the field and find an open receiver," Cheboygan head coach Jack Coon said. "Our kids do a really good job of finding that open window."

Cheboygan's defense intercepted Pintar twice on the night, with one of those getting picked off by Stempky, who raced 45 yards for a touchdown to help give the Chiefs a 28-0 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Ball control was also key for the Chiefs, who dominated the time of possession throughout Friday night's game.

"I was really pleased with our ball control, with the exception of not getting in the endzone," Coon added. "I'd like to still a little bit quicker. I think Alpena only had three offensive snaps in that first quarter, and that's what you want to be able to do to people."

Page 2 of 2 - "Again, coach (Dave Sturvist) and the defense did a good job of pitching a shutout until the very last play. I really thought that that was a big combination of ball control offense, and you got a defense that's going to knock them (Alpena) three-and-out and give us the ball back."

Alpena's only touchdown of the contest came when Pintar hit receiver Elliot Zarins on a 27-yard touchdown pass as time expired.

It was another frustrating loss for the Wildcats, who couldn't capitalize on the opportunities they had.

"We're not handing people at the line of scrimmage," Alpena head coach Mel Skillman said after the game. "They (Cheboygan) were just knocking our people backwards. We couldn't run the ball and we couldn't throw the ball."

"We just didn't have our full concentration (before the game). Coming on the bus there was a lot of fooling around, and I knew we were kind of in trouble when that happens. We weren't thinking about the game, we were thinking about farting around."

Pintar finished the game eight-of-29 passes for 138 yards to lead Alpena.

On a wet night at Western Avenue Field, the Chiefs still managed 346 total yards of offense, while the defense held the Wildcats to 299 total yards offensively.

Defensively, Trent Jarman led the Chiefs with a team-high nine tackles, while Stempky had seven, Jameson Knolton (sack) had six, Austin Ginop, Gage Sullivan and Hunter Filice each had four, Colt Hudak and Demeuse had three, DJ Sayers, Brett Snyder, Ravon MacLeod and Bevier all tallied two apiece, and Pearson rounded the team out with an interception.

At 5-1, the Chiefs are in prime position to stamp their ticket to the playoffs.

"Our biggest thing is we have to stay confident," Pearson added. "That's been our goal since after that Marquette loss, just win out the rest of the year, we had to win every game, and that's really important for us to make the playoffs. We have a couple tough opponents coming up, so we have to just keep practicing hard. We had a good week of practice every week, so that's the biggest thing for us, keeping our focus every week, a one week at a time kind of thing."

The Chiefs will look to clinch their playoff spot when they play at Sault Ste. Marie next Friday at 7 p.m.

"We're hunting for number six, and number six is across the bridge in Sault Ste Marie next week, so we got to go after it with vengeance," Coon added.